Let us know if you get results from Apple.
Are you saying your Time Machine drive failed as well as the drive in the mini?

I'd be happy to look at the Time Machine drive and/or your mini if that would help. I think this isn't a job for an in-home visit, though. But if you'd be willing to drop off the mini, cables, original OS disks, etc. (I have a monitor) and your Time Machine drive, I can do some diagnostics with DiskWarrior, and maybe copy the data off to another drive. Cloning is time consuming.

I know nothing about Carbonite.

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
Steve Jobs

Though the waits have been long sometimes, I've never had a problem reaching AppleCare. And yes, I know there is a Customer Relations. I got a new Mac G5 replaced once by that office.

I don't understand how a functioning Time Machine backup wouldn't contain all of your data and settings. That's why I asked what steps you had taken. I suspect all your data is there.

What you're seeing above is the use of the Quote button on the bottom left. You can also edit a quote, so it shows only what you want.

Remember, Apple sells millions of Macs. They can't all be perfect.

I have no trouble getting through to Apple Care - it's getting to Customer Relations that's the problem. AppleCare are the ones who are transferring me to Customer Relations and then disconnected.

As well as the data from Time Machine, 3 senior Advisors have said that it can't be retrieved.

I just got off the phone with Apple Customer Relations. I reached them by calling Corporate Headquarters in Cupertino and was transferred to a ACR person in Texas.
Evidently, I'm supposed to receive a disk for Lion via FEDEX before noon today and I've been promised that will solve all my computer problems. Then I'll be on the phone with Charlie, my Senior advisor for installation assistance. The ACR will call me Friday (my first available day), to make sure all went well.

Stephen Hart wrote:Well, keep us informed. I'm curious to know what went wrong and why Apple thinks a Lion installer would make a difference.

The disc was received at 11:45am and I was on the phone within minutes. It turned out to be an OS X Snow Leopard. The woman at corporate gave me the wrong info.

My advisor, Charlie Huberty, managed to get everything working except iTunes. It turns out an error message I received: 4002 has been submitted to them before - iTunes is kind of working but there's a problem that the advisor couldn't solve. He installed a program on my computer that caught the data and then transmitted it to the Apple Engineers for their explanation because he couldn't figure it out. Turns out Mr. Huberty works from his home as a senior advisor and has a good background in MAC. I didn't know that Apple did this but it makes sense. No overhead, building rental, etc. I'm not sure exactly what he did - but as long as it works, I'm happy.

By reinstalling Snow Leopard Apple will be able to determine if the cause is a faulty operating system or a hardware problem (hard disk drive, logic board, power supply). If the computer continues to give you problems the cause is likely hardware since an operating system cause has been ruled out.

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This is where I'd normally write an impressive summary of my skills and proficiencies.

I'm sorry I was away and not in this thread from the beginning... but I would have wanted to see this machine and to look at it with my own eyes. I am not at all convinced that this has anything to do with hardware ... nor any corruption of the operating system. I have seen problems like this arise because permissions get scrambled up due to files being in the "wrong" (unanticipated) places on the hard drive. For example, a person I helped one time had problems like this... data that seemed to appear and disappear without explanation. It turned out that the entire problem was caused by the person having accidentally or inadvertently moved their "Home" directory from the Users Folder into the MacHD Folder. Everything, and I mean everything, was screwed up. But the solution was as quick as just moving that folder back where it belonged. This is the kind of thing that you'd have to see with your eyes before you could troubleshoot the problem.